a place for ideas, electronics, prototyping, DIY technology, knowledge and arts. However, I don't want to promise anything, maybe this blog will have its own life and it will grow and develop the way it sees fit.

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Monday, January 16, 2012

DIY smartphone headphone adapter (with MIC & control button)

Do you have a special connection with your personal headphones such that you cannot listen to music without them?

Do you wish your personal headphones have the feature of the remote control (buttons) and MIC that smartphone earphones usually have?

Do you have an AUX line in your car's radio and you like to listen to your smartphone's music in your car?

Are you bothered when you receive a phone call while driving because you'll have to unhook your phone from the AUX input to answer, which can get you into an accident?

Are you like me and you prefer not paying tens of dollars for something that you can build yourself and will only cost you time (and a few dollars). There is nothing more rewarding then DIY!

Ja3far had the same problems mentioned above and in the video below he will show you the solution he came up with. (This is my first time shooting a DIY video, and I think I am a bad illustrator, so excuse my sloppy technique)

In the video, Ja3far decided to make an adapter which he can hook up to his expensive headphones (or any other earphone/headphone). This connector has a microphone and a button. Ja3far can use the button to play/pause/move to the next track/answer phone calls (the features of the button depends really on the operating system of your smartphone). And the MIC is obviously used to communicate during a phone call without having to bother (very useful while driving).

This project requires little knowledge of electronics and soldering. You just need the following items:

1- Solder and Soldering Iron

2- Wires*

3- Electret MIC*

4- Push Button*

5- TRRS (Tip-Ring-Ring-Sleeve) audio Jack*

6- Multimeter (not necessary, but it is good to be able to perform continuity testing to follow the connections of the Jack)

*total cost is about 2$

All these items can be found at your local electronics shop.

The TRRS jack goes into the smartphone audio input, while it is important to note that regular earphones and headphones have a TRS type of jack as shown below:

A TRRS audio jack

Headphones TRS jack

For a headphone jack: TIP is connected to Left channel, RING is connected to the Right channel, and Sleeve is connected to the Ground.
Oh and this is a final image of the adapter.

I know it doesn't look great but hey it does the job, and trust me wearing your headphones with this geeky looking gadget will definitely make you stand out.
So I leave the aesthetics for the aesthetic minded.